Tigers in India

Just over a century ago, there were more than 100 thousand tigers roaming the forests of India and its adjacent lands. Since that time, habitat encroachment and a booming wildlife trade have driven this once fearless predator onto the brink of extinction. Three of the eight subspecies of tiger are gone forever and the remaining are critically endangered.

One of the main reasons is habitat encroachment. As India's population swells to well over a billion people, their civilization is spreading into the tiger's territory, driving down the number of prey, therefore driving down the number of tigers.

The most sinister threat to the tiger comes in the form of illegal wildlife trade, or poaching. Interpol estimates poaching to be a 6 billion dollar industry, making it the second largest black market industry behind drugs. It is estimated that the Bengal tiger will be completely extinct from the wild within the next 10 years.

If the Bengal tiger is to survive, it will be up to our generation to put an end to the relentless poaching and find a way to coexist with these noble big cats.